And now gay-plumaged birds of all sorts began to warble in the trees, and with their varied and gladsome notes seemed to welcome and salute the fresh morn that was beginning to show the beauty of her countenance at the gates and balconies of the east, shaking from her locks a profusion of liquid pearls; in which dulcet moisture bathed, the plants, too, seemed to shed and shower down a pearly spray, the willows distilled sweet manna, the fountains laughed, the brooks babbled, the woods rejoiced, and the meadows arrayed themselves in all their glory at her coming.
Thus begins the morning that Don Quixote and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, are awakened from their slumber and vigorously attacked by a mysterious knight and his squire.
After the outreach season last year we went to Colorado for a wedding and to visit family and friends. We spent many days with my (Thaine's) parents at their house and in the mountains, so there was time to read. On a whim, since I had heard it was an iconic piece of Spanish literature and culture, I picked up Don Quixote and began to read. The first pages of the book were hilarious with humorous quotes from books of chivalry such as, "the reason of the unreason with which my reason is afflicted so weakens my reason that with reason I murmur at your beauty." The whole book is essentially a satire on books and stories of chivalry. It is extremely well written, with rich language. I read it in English–a translation from the 1800's–and continually marvelled that the poetry rhymed so well and at the richness of the vocabulary. The character of Don Quixote is introduced immediately and most of his well-known adventures such as jousting with the windmills occur within the first 50 pages of the book. But the book is over 1,000 pages long! The rest of the book contains myriad sub-plots and adventures, and sheds autobiographical light on the life of the author Miguel Cervantes. Cervantes was, among many other things, a soldier fighting against the Moors (Muslims), was wounded, was captured and held as a slave for ransom, and spent much of his life in financial distress. He weaves these very serious, non-comical things into the book in sub-plots with incredible detail and gravity, all while maintaining an overall light-hearted and comedic tone.
After reading the book I began to see names and influences from Don Quixote all over Juarez. There is a neighborhood we often go to that looks like any other urban colonia, except that many of the tiny yards house horses and donkeys! It seems that all the families on a certain street drive horse carts; making deliveries and collecting junk. Of course the street is appropriately named "Calle Rosinante." Rosinante is Don Quixote's horse and is as much a character in the story as any of the humans. In fact, the book opens with ballads and poems sung by Sancho Panza the Squire and Rosinante the horse. The picture to the right is from the front of one of the houses on Rosinante street.
I have since thought a lot about the significance of the book. Of course it is significant historically as a literary pioneer and masterpiece of prose and language. But its greatest significance for me is the theme of a man who chose to live out his ideals in spite of the stark "realities" around him. Don Quixote strives to live the ideal of chivalry while all those around him are self serving. (Don Quixote even preaches an amazingly biblical sermonette about loving your enemies versus revenge, only to be showered with stones after Sancho Panza followed the entirely sensible sermon with a very silly statement saying essentially, "See how Godly my master is, and how Godly I am by associating with him?" The scene is the age-old picture of those who are content to let others be righteous on their behalf.) Don Quixote sees things in black and white, and though he lacks discernment, strives to do right because it is right. This inspires me! In many ways I am like Don Quixote. I believe the Bible. I believe that Jesus Christ came in the flesh and died for my sins. I believe I have new life in Him, and I believe that Heaven is a real place. I believe that His yoke is easy. In the world's eyes, the teachings of Jesus are idealistic and not compatible with the "realities" of life. So like Don Quixote, my family and I have chosen to live a life that is driven by ideals and, like Don Quixote, we are often seen as fools for doing so.
--Thaine